Piriquita Pastry Shop in Sintra
Piriquita in Sintra is a famous for amazing sweets called Queijadas and Travesseiros de Sintra. Located in the historical area of the city, it is the perfect spot for families and traditions.
The bakery that become known as Piriquita was founded in 1862. Amaro dos Santos, a baker by profession, and his wife Constância Gomes worked there and developed the concept.
The name Piriquita comes from the nickname that King D. Carlos I, bestowed on Constância Gomes, based on her short stature. It was also this King who encouraged the couple to make the famous Queijadas, a sweet that he enjoyed during his summers in Sintra. The success was immediate and the bakery quickly became a Pastry shop. (nowdays they have 2 stores in Sintra and another one in Lisbon).
Interesting fact is that Piriquita served during the Monarchy and Republic, since has more thn 160 years. The Portuguese Revolution happened on 5th October 1910. During the previous days, King D. Manuel II managed to inform the Queen Mother, who was in Pena National Palace about the situation. Perhaps the only warning since the phone lines had been cut.
In the 1940s, while much of the II World War running and world was falling apart, a new treasure was born in Sintra. Constança Luísa dos Santos Cunha, granddaughter of the founder, developed Travesseiro, a pastry filled with egg jam and with an almond touch, but with a secret so well kept that only the direct family has access.
Today, in the sixth generation, this is a rare case of survival of a family project. In fact, it is more common to happen in few Portuguese wine families, such as José Maria da Fonseca in Setúbal.
Piriquita Main Sweets
Diversity of sweets in Portugal is not a problem, due to sugar cane from Madeira and Brazil back to the Age of Discoveries, however this amazing pastry shop is known by Travesseiros de Sintra, Queijadas de Sintra, Travesseiros de Nutella, Pastel de Sintra, Pastel de Cruz Alta.
If you will visit Sintra, dont miss this pastry shop. We also advise to visit Pena National Palace, Quinta da Regaleira, Sintra National Palace besides many other palaces nearby.
Major tip: choose two palaces that you spend time, since there are so many palaces in the area you can easily spend 1 week visiting all the options.
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